North Country Regional Students to Advance to New York State History Day

History Day Competition held at Fort Ticonderoga on March 5

Twenty-five middle and high school students from the North Country won top prizes at North Country History Day on Saturday, March 5, at Fort Ticonderoga’s Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center. These students will advance to compete at New York State History Day in Cooperstown on April 18.

“What a great day!” said Rich Strum, Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Education and North Country Regional Coordinator for New York State History Day. “Not only was it exciting to see student projects, but it was great to see students from throughout the region sharing with each other their common interest in history and what history can teach us about ourselves. Each and every student participant invested a great deal of time and energy in historical research and creating compelling projects reflecting this year’s theme of Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History.”

Junior Division (Grades 6-8) North Country Regional winners include:

Grace Sayward, a homeschool student from Schuyler Falls, took first place in the Historical Paper category with her paper “Marjorie Lansing Porter.” Lisa Marie Baez, from Gouverneur Central School, took second place with her paper “The Diary of Mary Mallon.”

Taylor Ormasen, Shelbie Alguire, Tyler Tupper, Jillian Neaves, and Kate Rushlo, from Gouverneur Central School, placed first in the Group Performance category with their performance “Around the Moon and Back Again.” Leeah Morrissiey, Allyson Walker, Kody Martin, and Hannah McIntosch placed second with their performance “John Doyle Lee and the Mountain Meadows Massacre.”

Maia Ontiveros, from Gouverneur Central School, took first place in the Individual Exhibit category with her exhibit “Mexican Immigration.”

Lorelei Leerkes and Kiyanna Stockwell, from St. Mary’s School in Ticonderoga, placed first in the Group Exhibit category with their exhibit “Samuel de Champlain: His Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in North America.” Kylee Bennett and Talandra Hurlburt, from St. Mary’s School in Ticonderoga, placed second with their exhibit “Theodore Roosevelt: Leading the Charge to Build the Panama Canal.”

Senior Division (Grades 9-12) North Country Regional winners include:

Francis Kneussle, from Peru Central School, took first place in the Individual Exhibit category with his exhibit “Samuel de Champlain: Father of Quebec.” Ethan Depo, from Peru Central School, took second place for his exhibit “The Real Imitation Game: Turing and the Enigma Code.”

Alice Cochran, Christina Lashway, and Nicholas Manfred, from Moriah Central School, placed first in the Group Exhibit category for their exhibit “The Bracero Program.”

Raymond Bryant, from Moriah Central School, took first place in the Individual Documentary category for his documentary “The Space Race.”

Ben Caito and Liam Sayward, homeschool students from Schuyler Falls, placed first in the Group Documentary for their documentary “Verplank Colvin: An Exchange of Ideals.”

Lorelei Leerkes, from St. Mary’s School in Ticonderoga, talks with judges about her History Day exhibit on Samuel de Champlain at North Country History Day, held Saturday, March 5. Dozens of students from Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, and Warren counties participated in North Country History Day, held at Fort Ticonderoga.

A special prize for the best use of primary sources, sponsored by the New York State Archives, was awarded to Alice Cochran, Christina Lashway, and Nicholas Manfred, from Moriah Central School, for their exhibit “The Bracero Program.”

Participating schools included Gouverneur Central School, Moriah Central School, Peru Central School, and St. Mary’s School (Ticonderoga) as well as homeschool students from the Plattsburgh, New York area.

National History Day is the nation’s leading program for history education in schools. The program annually engages 2 million people in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. Students research history topics of their choice related to an annual theme and create exhibits, documentaries, performances, research papers, and website designs. They may enter in competition at the regional, state, and national level. Participants include students in grades 6-8 in the Junior Division and grades 9-12 in the Senior Division. National History Day also provides educational services to students and teachers, including a summer internship program, curricular materials, internet resources, and annual teacher workshops and training institutes. Fort Ticonderoga hosts teacher workshops about History Day each fall in the North Country and Regional Coordinator Rich Strum is available to meet with teachers at their schools to introduce the program. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal in 2011, “Students who participate in National History Day—actually a year-long program that gets students in grades 6-12 doing historical research—consistently outperform their peers on state standardized tests, not only in social studies but in science and math as well.”

Teachers and students from Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, and Warren counties interested in participating in North Country History Day during the 2016-17 school year should contact Rich Strum, North Country Regional Coordinator for New York State History Day, at rstrum@fort-ticonderoga.org or at (518) 585-6370.